Fabrics, including pile fabrics, are customarily rolled into rolls for storage and shipment. When stored or piled, any continual pressures causing the surface of the fabric of one wrap to be pressed against the backing of the fabric in an immediately adjacent wrap tends to mat down or otherwise flatten and mar the surface of the fabric. This problem is especially troublesome in pile fabrics such as velvets, tufted rugs, tufted upholstery and similar surface-textured fabrics.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,674,222 to Smiley, a method and means are disclosed for winding pile fabrics and collecting them on a windup roll in such a way as to eliminate or diminish the pressure exerted on the face of the pile fabric within the roll. To accomplish this a strip is attached to the fabric at each side thereof, that is, along each selvage edge of the fabric, so that the strip extends longitudinally along the selvage edges of the fabric. This strip resembles a long narrow tape having an attaching tab along one edge thereof. Preferably, this strip is sewn on to the selvage edge of the fabric, but it can also be cemented to the fabric or attached thereto by any other conventional means. The strip has two shoulders, preferably formed from corrugated paper, one shoulder of which projects upwardly from the longitudinal mid-plane of the strip and the second shoulder of which projects downwardly at one side edge of the strip so that an attaching tab is formed at the other side edge of the strip. In other words, the upwardly projecting shoulder is closest to the attaching tab portion while the downwardly projecting shoulder extends along the other edge of the tape. Thus, the attaching tab lies along one edge of the tape, the downwardly projecting shoulder lies along the other edge of the tape, and the upwardly projecting shoulder is disposed intermediate the attaching tab edge and the downwardly projecting shoulder.
Since the upwardly and downwardly projecting shoulders are made of corrugated paper and are therefore relatively wide, the inner edge of the downwardly projecting shoulder is aligned with the outer edge of the upwardly projecting shoulder so that as the tape is wound on a roll, these shoulders meet with the two edges bearing against each other so that the attaching tab is wound along a helical path. These shoulders act as spacers between succeeding wraps of the tape and the height of at least one of the shoulders is at least equal to, and preferably slightly greater than, the height of the pile in the fabric to which the tape is to be attached and used.
Means are also disclosed in this patent for winding a pile fabric with the tape secured to its selvage edges on a collecting core. The core is provided with flange means on each end having radial faces adapted to bear against the inner face of the downwardly projecting shoulder on the first or initial wrap of the tape secured to the fabric about the core. These radial faces are spaced apart a distance sufficient to hold the fabric taut as it is wrapped about the core with the inner face of the downwardly projecting shoulder bearing against the radial face of the flange. Succeeding wraps of the fabric and the tape are wound on the core with the inner face of the downwardly projecting shoulder bearing against the outer face of the upwardly projecting shoulder of the preceding wrap so that the shoulders in each succeeding wrap are held in the same radial plane and the fabric in each succeeding wrap is maintained taut.
While the above described means disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,674,222 to Smiley were found to be effective for their intended purpose, they have limitations. For example, it is costly and time-consuming to attach the tab to the selvage edges of the fabric and time-consuming and difficult to unroll the fabric from the collecting core and remove the fabric from the tape. In addition, it is difficult to impart and maintain sufficient transverse stretch or tension in the fabric as the tab is attached to it and as the fabric with the attached tab is collected on the core.